Cold
by FadingMoonlight
Summary: Shino can't bring himself to enjoy their current mission. It's cold, snowy and the employer's not exactly inspiring him to work hard. Kiba's strange reluctance to be close to him wasn't helping his mood much. What's wrong with that boy anyway?
1. Chapter 1

Some days are just worse than others. Some days it seems like everything just fits to your will while others the world's against you.

Today is one of those days.

I, Shino Aburame, have been on a mission with my overly absurd teammate Kiba in the frigid snow country for about three days now. Already it's been far too long. That's not even including the fact we have yet to arrive in the lands of the feudal lord who hired us and so have yet to sit through all the long political meetings. Our job was overly simple; I almost think a team of genins should have gotten it, not me and Kiba, who were both advancing nicely toward Jounin status. All we had to do was watch over a plump feudal lord and make sure no one successfully killed him during his meetings. Most likely he was just being paranoid as are most feudal lords.

With a barking laugh to Akamaru Kiba flung himself onto a particularly large pile of frozen water and proceeded to make a snow angel. I shivered in my large coat by simply looking at the other boy, who was in a coat only slightly larger than his usual one.

I was cold. I was inconceivably cold. My insects were cold too. Beneath my skin they twittered and buzzed in an attempt to dispel the chill. Even under my coat and all the scarves and mittens I shivered and my insects quivered.

Aburame's were not made for cold.

It really didn't help that insects were cold blooded.

"C'mon Shino, lets take a break and enjoy the snow. You know we don't have this back at home." Kiba whined at me for the twenty-sixth time in the past hour.

That means he asks roughly every two point three minutes, I thought automatically. I'd gotten to doing math and counting, whatever I could to get my mind off the cold.

"Please Shino!" Damn it, why does he have to act like such a little kid? He even got the pitch high enough that his voice grated in my ears.

"No." I replied simply. I was afraid if I said any more my teeth would chatter and give away my discomfort. Would Kiba ever let me hear the end of this if he knew?

Kiba gave up his mission in a huff. I smiled to myself; it was a good thing Kiba was learning when he should just give up. Too bad it didn't last in the long term.

We walked in silence for a moment longer, the only sound the crunching of the annoying snow under our shoes. I decided that I would rather lose all my precious insects than ever have to do this again. Then I figured out that 372 divided by 6 was 62, meaning if we had eight more days in a year every month would 31 days, every single one of them. Then there would be none of this every-month-has-a-different-amount-of-days-than-the-last-one nonsense. That would make it a lot easier on the young ones trying to learn such things.

"Are you shaking, Shino?" Kiba's annoying voice broke through my thoughts, bringing the cold back in an inescapable wall. I noticed that we'd slowed down while I was thinking, and without the movement I'd gotten chilled.

"N-no. No!" Damn that infernal cold! Damn Kiba for being so annoying! I took a breath, which I noted frosted in the air in front of me, some of it fogging my glasses. "No." I repeated a last time.

He shrugged, turning back to our path. "Whatever, lets just get going, we're almost there."

I looked up, finally noticing the houses that were coming up fast. They stood out against the snow and smoke billowed nicely out of the chimney. The thought of the heat made me pick up the pace again.

We'd finally made it to civilization, and warmth, in this absurdly cold and un-welcoming place.

"So where do we go in the village?" Kiba asked, his nose obviously twitching in the direction of food.

I took out the map the Hokage had given us with our destination on it. "Through the town. The feudal lord's palace is on the very edge. No we can't stop for food." I answered all his questions at once. He dropped his head and continued on without a word. I was glad; I didn't want to stand around arguing with comfort from the cold so close.

Finally I could get warm and, with luck, get a break from Kiba. Even with years of experience dealing with him I can't say it was that easy after an extended period of time.

"You must be the shinobi the Master hired?" A servant greeted us at the door. Already my fingers were tingling in the thawing sensation. "Right this way, he will see you in a moment." And he left us outside a magnificently ornate red door.

"What a prig." Kiba whistled. My hand twitched in irritation, but I was in too good a mood to reprimand him, so he continued obliviously. "I hope their not all such prick nobles. Fucking bastards would annoy the hell outta me."

"Out of." I corrected quietly. I didn't know how to respond to his comments without ruining the happiness the warmth brought. Inside I could almost feel the calm my kikaichu had settled into. It was nice.

"The master will see you now." It was someone new, the previous servant must have returned to manning the door. This one was a woman, old, wrinkled, probably more of an advisor than a servant. She made a show of turning her nose up at us when we walked past. I had to put a hand on Kiba in order to remind him of his place.

The man in the room was unmistakably the feudal lord. He wore rich red robes that draped nicely, almost disguising the rolls of fat underneath. Then again they did nothing to disguise his multiple chins. He looked young, his face shiny and shaven. His eyes glinted like a child looking at candy; though he did have a big bowl of the stuff beside him. Every once in while he would reach over and stuff another piece of the refined sugar past his lips.

It took him a minute to take his eyes off a cute maid to notice us. Beside me I noticed Kiba was doing the same thing, but he was Kiba after all, I expected nothing less from him. It was the feudal lord I was slightly disappointed in. I'm not here to judge an inadequate lord, I reminded myself, and then gave my supposed partner a discreet elbow in the ribs.

"Are you the shinobi I ordered?" Even his voice was sending shivers of disgust down my spine. It was high, like a child's, and slightly squeaky. I was sure spit flew out with every word. There were even small spots of drool staining the red of his robe.

"Yes," I answered quickly before Kiba could ruin our first impression, "We are the guards you requested." I had to correct him, however subtly. I could tell that I wasn't going to particularly enjoy being with this man, despite the fact he provided me with warmth.

On that note my insects were finally settling down under my skin. Their buzzing was finally receding into the background noise. It was nice.

He clapped his pudgy hands. How childlike was this man? "Oh goody! Nana, show them to their room."

The cute maid returned and motioned us toward another door. We followed, Kiba like the love struck puppy he is. "The Lord wishes you to join him for dinner, so you may clean up in your room until then. We hope you find all to your liking."

"Oh, I find _everything_ to my-" I sent a few of my insects to Kiba as a reminder that he should behave like his status requires. I think he got the message, more or less.

"Here's your room. The dining hall is down this hall to your left. I've been asked by the Lord to remind you that it's the room with the big table." So the feudal lord had no inhibitions against letting us know he thought us no more than trained monkeys. Oh well, I thought him no more than a fat slob with too much power and not enough brain, to put it as Kiba would.

"Room? Only one?" Kiba protested before I could stop him. Maybe it had been on purpose, seeing as I was thinking the same thing, but no one knew that.

"The Lord only had one room prepared for you guests. If you have any problems, please talk to him. I am merely doing as I was told."

"Thank you." I said, again before Kiba could get in his word, which probably would not have been nearly so pleasant. She bowed and left with a final reminder about the time and place of dinner.

We walked into our room, dumping our bags just inside the door until they were needed. Then I took the few seconds needed to survey our new living space.

It was small. Too small. It was the size one person might get for a bedroom when renting their first cheap apartment. It was certainly not made for two teenage boys to share.

And there was only one bed.

Now I'd read stories where this sort of thing happened, and usually the two ended up much closer the following day.

I wasn't about to ever let that happen with me and Kiba.

Kiba could sleep on the floor. Dogs do that, don't they?

"Only one bed..." Kiba muttered his face unreadable.

"Yes."

"...and one shower..." I hadn't though of that.

"It's not that big of a deal."

"...yeah..." He said slowly. I glanced at him, not perceiving a problem as he obviously did. "So, um, how are we going to do this? I mean-" His eyes flickered everywhere but at me, seeing thoughts that were only in his own mind. My brow furrowed, a reaction I gladly hid from him, what could he possibly be thinking?

"You'll sleep on the floor." I replied simply.

"Oh right." He seemed relieved. Why, I couldn't even begin to understand. This setback was nothing compared to what shinobi usually dealt with when traveling in groups. "Well, I think I'll just use the shower." His voice was set with an obviously fake lightness. He was hiding something.

I set about changing into cleaner clothing while he was away. I didn't even bother to try and think about what could be bothering Kiba, probably that he couldn't secretly spend the night with Nana the maid while I was in the room or something of the like. I jumped when a sudden thump and a string of curses came from the bathroom. Only Kiba being annoying even when not even in the room.

Against what the feudal lord thought we found the dining hall with no problem. Though the maid wasn't kidding that it was the room with the big table. The table took up the room. The table made the room. It was a complete waste of space. The feudal lord was the only person sitting at the table, the servants that stood throughout the room forbidden to sit. There were only three chairs as well; one on either side of where the Lord sat at the head of the table.

Kiba and I took our seats politely, waiting for the feudal lord to make the first move. We watched in silence as he finished ordering all his servants and cooks around. There was almost no table left once he was done; there were so many plates and serving platters of every sort of food imaginable. Kiba eagerly drooled in that disgustingly animalistic way of his, though for once he was out pigged. Beside me the feudal lord had a puddle of drool on his plate before any food was shoveled on it.

Soon mine was the only cleared dish on the table.

"Aren't you going to eat Shino?" Kiba mumbled past a mouthful of meat.

"Eventually," _Once I get my appetite back, _"it's been my experience that we go over the job before eating."

Beside me the feudal lord stop eating, a wad of steak halfway into his mouth, he looked at me for a moment then gave an attempt at a polite cough while he spit out what he was eating. "Of course. This was just…a test. To be sure you know your manners. Those are very important to a feudal lord, especially in front of others."

Which was why he wasn't worrying about how many peoples were sprayed with spittle while he talked. Right.

"O…kay." Kiba wasn't very happy with this. Knowing him he was probably either really angry with me or downright confused. Served him right. "What do you want to talk about Shino?"

"When should we expect to meet the other Feudal lords?" I fixed the lord with a stare that stopped his meaty hand halfway to his lips.

"A couple of days," He tried for smooth as he reluctantly put down his fork. "It'll take awhile to get there."

"Get there?" Kiba broke his own longing gaze to shoot a look at the pig-man sitting next to him, "I though they were coming here."

The Feudal lord let out a high pitched laugh that set my kikaichu buzzing again. "No, no, as if my little place could suit some of the other feudal lords regal tastes. And it's so far out here that quite a few would refuse to come altogether. So I have to go to them."

_I don't think I'll be eating much tonight, _I thought to myself as I was forced to watch the Feudal lord's skin bounce while he giggled to himself. Let's just say it was not the most pleasant sight. Across from me I could see that Kiba regretted his few bites earlier.

"When do we leave?" I asked after the feudal lord had calmed down some. How long will I have to bear the infernal cold again? I wanted to ask, but had to bite it back for fear of being rude.

"How long's it going to take exactly?" For a split second I was almost content with how obnoxious and oblivious to courtesy Kiba was, "Shino doesn't like to travel very much." And the feeling was gone.

At that possibly true comment the feudal lord treated me to a glance with fear that was just as badly hidden as a child playing hide and seek thinks they are behind a bush. As a side thought I wondered just how many peoples had given me that look throughout my life. Enough that it didn't bother me, anyway. I didn't even spare a thought as to why they seemed to think I was in the slightest bit dangerous.

"I'm sorry to say that we must leave tomorrow if we're to make it in time. It's about a three day trip."

"When should we be ready?" I asked politely, trying to get the feudal lord to stop his staring.

"What? I just said tomorrow."

"When should we be ready to leave your, um, castle tomorrow?" I clarified.

"Whenever I'm ready to go we'll go." He shrugged, sending his double-or is it a triple? - chin jiggling again. It was not pleasant.

Annoying little… "Thank you." I had to grit my teeth to stop from even breathing some of the things that were going through my mind. I nodded and hoped the two numbskulls I was being forced to eat with would get the hint that they could start their dinner.

They didn't.

"Anything else?" The lord was shaking with anticipation of the meal. Or perhaps withdrawal? I though to myself, He has gone a whole five minutes without something going past his lips.

"Nothing." I had to bite back a small growl that threatened to color my word.

"Then let's eat!" The feudal lord clapped his hands and servants rushed in to heap all three plates with food. One look at the impossible amount of food I was expected to eat and my stomach churned. Watching Kiba practically dive into his own mountain was the last I could take. I pushed my plate away and stood up.

"My apologies, Lord. I'm afraid I'm not feeling that well. If it's all the same to you I'd like to return to my room."

Kiba gave me a concerned look before asking if I was sure. It was almost sweet, but I think the beans that were cramming his mouth kind of ruined the effect.

"I'm just a little tired." O_f putting up with you two._ I added silently as I turned my back to them. "Feel free to eat my share."

The silence and seclude of the room provided was a relief. After days of walking and listening to Kiba and Akamaru it was like a breath of fresh air. Taking off my jacket I sat on the bed, closed my eyes and just reveled in the silence.

* * *

**Notes-** The usual disclaimer; I'm not the creator of Shino or Kiba or anything in the Naruto world, I'm just twisting them for my own pleasure. Well, i hope you enjoy i too. This is supposed to be part 1 of 3, but as I'm writing it, I'm realizing it might go on longer.

Reviews, both good and bad, are greatly loved and appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't realize I'd actually fallen asleep until I was jolted awake by the creak of the door as it was opened.

"Hey Shino," Kiba called softly from the other side. "You okay?"

"Kiba." I growled. Why wasn't he just barging in? It wasn't often that Kiba's sympathy appeared until after he committed some act that should have been avoided.

"I…"

"What?" Slowly, I sat up and returned my jacket and glasses to their proper places.

"I brought you some leftovers." He admitted quietly. Shame was just barely coloring his words.

"Thank you." I said after a moment's consideration. Kiba hesitated, and then started in slowly. He crawled across the room, and in the end I had to growl to get him to go faster.

Akamaru sauntered over to a corner and let his legs give out underneath him. His master followed suit, taking the floor at the end of the bed. I ate slowly. The food was cold and rather disgusting but I was hungry, and if we are going to leave the comforts of civilization I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could while it lasted.

"Hey Shino, are you okay?" Kiba's whisper just barely reached my ears.

"What?" It slipped out. For once, Kiba had caught me off guard and I spoke before thinking thinks over. That was new.

He didn't look at me. "Are you okay Shino?" he asked a third time.

"I'm fine."

He shut up for a second, accepting my answer. Then he broke it, "You want me to leave so you can go to sleep or anything."

"Kiba," Just when Kiba seemed to get a little maturity, he threw it away by being an annoying little –

"What? Anything."

"Shut up."

"Oh, okay. I can do that."

And shut up he did. For the first time in the whole trip he managed to clamp his lips together and keep them like that for more than thirty consecutive seconds. It was almost perfect, except he started to fidget non-stop.

Good thing I wasn't expecting much.

After finishing the dinner Kiba had brought I wasted a few minutes watching him. He seemed to be acting a bit strange, which was interesting. It wasn't the silence or the fidgeting; they cancelled each other out, but he couldn't keep his eyes in one place for more than a couple seconds. His gaze darted around the room and never seemed to focus on anything, like he was avoiding something that remained firmly in his mind. Strangest yet he seemed to be trying hard not to look at me.

That's Kiba for you.

"Will you need the washroom for awhile?" Finally his gaze snapped onto me. Wide eyed he watched me slowly lever myself off the bed. "I'd like to wash."

"Yeah, sure, you do that. I'll just stay here." Kiba gave a weak, halfhearted smile that made me raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Turning around I shrugged it off. I was going to enjoy a warm shower.

Like a breath of fresh air after a week in a box, the first rush of warmth the water brought washed away all the tension in my body. Even the last of the chill of outside was finally washed away. My insects calmed down as well. They're buzzing dimmed to a constant drone that I'd had years of experience ignoring.

I turned my head into the oncoming rush and reveled in the feel of it. Everything seemed so simple here. It was just me and my insects. Everything else in the world was on the other side of the bathroom door.

Kiba was on the other side of that door.

I couldn't hold back the sigh. This wasn't surprising. Kiba always seemed to ruin my good moods, even when he wasn't in the room.

Rather than try and fight it I turned my thought to the boy in the other room. Kiba had been weird since dinner. And for Kiba that was quite the feat. Mentally I ran over the scene with him since I'd left the table.

The first was that he'd thought to ask before barging into the room after I'd been sleeping. It was his room as well as mine, and he had the same rights to it. So that leaves Kiba being considerate. Now, Kiba isn't a bad person, nor is he overly selfish, but he'd never been one to think of someone else until afterwards. My theory was that his body worked too fast for his mind, and his mouth worked faster than that. Meaning that he more often than not did something before he fully thought about what he was doing, and then he'd realize it and regret it. Maybe he'd seen I wasn't that happy with this place and was being cautious. I suppose that was another plausible explanation.

Secondly he'd brought me leftovers from dinner when he came. That went beyond the theory of cautiousness. Even if Kiba had noticed the subtle signs that I couldn't suppress that I was annoyed, bringing me dinner with that wide-eyed look he had was in no way something Kiba would do. And yet he'd done it. I very much doubt the feudal lord was the one to give him the suggestion.

Lastly he had actually asked what he could do for me, made sure I was okay and wasn't dying. That's what was bothering me the most. That was what had me thinking about him when all I wanted was to forget about him. The faces he'd made at me, like that of a child who was looking to their parents for reassurance, seemed to be painted on the back of my eyelids.

The feeling that I wanted to see those strange faces again that made me try and abandon that train of thought.

Instead my thoughts wandered to the subject of the mission. I hated it, I decided. It was long, easy and _cold. _I was tired of having to put up with annoying peoples for long periods of time and tired of being around people. By nature I'm rather reclusive, I know that, and because of that very fact I needed my own space and privacy. Getting that was hard when I've had to share a tent and now a room with someone with absolutely no sense of the word.

And Kiba grabbed hold of my thoughts all over again.

Had he been acting this strange this entire trip and I had yet to notice it? It didn't seem so. The whole trip he'd been playing around and ignoring me. That wasn't unusual in the slightest. There were some moments where I'd wondered what Kiba was doing, namely when he'd watched me put up camp, but nothing that sent off the same kind of alert that his earlier actions had.

I'd just been sick of listening to him and he'd gotten all bent out of shape without even knowing he was the cause.

Finally I shut off the water. I'd long since lost the calm it usually held and my thoughts obviously weren't going to stop their strange dance anytime soon. I shivered when the cold air outside the shower reacted with the last traces of water. No matter how warm water could be, the moment you touched air the warmth was chased away; almost like a shocking return to reality.

Kiba was asleep where I'd left him; back slumped against the bed he was far away in dreamland with Akamaru curled on the floor next to him. Probably the only reason he didn't stir from being cold or fallen over was his furry companion.

I entertained the thought of leaving him like that. That would show him to be more careful with his body in the future. But that idle thought was washed away with a flood of complaints I know he would say tomorrow while we marched the feudal lord and all his personal attendants back across the accursed tundra. His neck would be stiff as a board if he was left collapsed against the bed like he was. Likely he would spend a good portion of his day trying to convince the maid Nana to rub it for him in hopes of something more.

I gave the sleeping boy one last look before setting to work unrolling our bedrolls and aligning them in a comfortable manner. Even if my comrade and friend deserved what he would get, I supposed he probably wouldn't sleep sitting up if he had a choice. I even pulled one of the three overstuffed comforters off the provided bed and used it to add a little more padding to Kiba's makeshift bed.

When I finished there was a small thunk and a half-hearted groan behind me. I stood up to see Akamaru padding over to my pile of bedding and dropped down over a good portion of it. I couldn't help raise an amused eyebrow, wondering if Kiba would have reacted to this invasion of his space, or if it was a regular occurrence in his home. The latter, I decided.

Kiba lay sprawled on the floor where his companion had mercilessly left him, sleeping like a baby. With nothing more than another passive moan he shifted slightly to get his arm out from underneath him. Moron just couldn't figure out he was supposed to wake up if he was uncomfortable.

Then I realized since Kiba was determined to be difficult whenever possible, I'd have to

move him myself. Akamaru sure didn't look like he was going help by the way he was draped over a corner of my pile of blankets meant for his master.

I definitely considered leaving him as is then.

But then he moaned a third time—anyone else would have just gotten up and moved already—and I knew I couldn't leave him there; likely he'd be groaning all night. With a defeated sigh I crouched down and tried to shift my sleeping friend so I could somehow get him up and over to his make-shift bed.

I rolled him over and carefully sat the limp corpse-like boy back up again. He stirred slightly and I stole my hands back in case he woke up. He didn't. Instead his head just lolled down on his chest. My hand twitched in slight anger; I was ready to actually enjoy some speck of civilization and Kiba was getting in the way. If he had any idea what was good for him he would get up before I made sure he'd regret being so difficult in the morning. With some suppressed mutterings I gently wrapped my arms around the sleeping boy and shifted his weight onto my shoulders. Thankfully he easily slouched against my chest.

"Shino…" He muttered, burying his face in the crook of my neck. He even went as far as to somehow push my high collar off to the side.

I froze. Had Kiba woken up? No, not possible. Had the other boy awoken he would have set off in his noisy activity the moment he saw the position he was in, and would _never _had tried to become closer to me.

I could feel his breath against my collarbone with every exhale he made. Even through my customarily thick coat the vibrations of his beating heart still somehow reached my skin. Though it wasn't unpleasant the feelings still sent shivers dancing up and down my spine, disturbing my kikaichu and sending them in a well understood panic. I was panicking too.

But what was there to panic over? I was simply being a good person and giving my comrade a better place to sleep and he himself was asleep, simple as that. It wasn't a big deal, nor anything close to one.

Either way I felt like I couldn't move. My breath was stuck in my throat and my heart was racing too fast. All my senses seemed to have dimmed, with exception to feeling. Everything I felt seemed crystal clear; the roughness of the carpet on my toes, the cool air that swirled around my exposed flesh and Kiba as he rested against me. His body heat seeped through the fabric of our clothes and chased away the cold of the room where we came in contact with each other. Somewhere in the back of my mind, in a place I couldn't banish the thoughts, I wished I could've held him like this the whole trip. Makes it obvious how much I hated the cold I'd been forced through.

When I realized what I was thinking I almost dropped the boy and left him there, no turning back. I could easily feel my cheeks overflowing with heat. It wasn't a feeling I was accustomed to, which only amplified the need to distance myself from Kiba.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I quickly maneuvered the two of us across the room to the make-shift bed and arranged the dead-weight boy into an acceptable sleeping position. Then I turned away so I could hopefully erase him from my thoughts.

With a final snort Kiba settled comfortably with Akamaru and left me to my own devices. Finally. I took a few moments to prepare a few things for the following day and settled down myself. After an extended period of time sleeping on a thin bedroll that was basically on the ground, the simple softness of the mattress was refreshing. I didn't want to move an inch. Some peoples would say it was like lying on a cloud, but of course that's scientifically impossible. A cloud is nothing more than a gathering of water droplets with no real rigidity to it. A person with all their weight would merely fall right through, and be a little damp when they finally hit the ground...

Morning. The rising of the sun caused by our planet turning to face the sun and up until it passes the noon point.

Light poured in through the half open window across the room and pooled on the pillow next to me. No matter how much I wished I could stay there and enjoy the comforts of the bed for even a moment longer, years of practice made it hard to sit idle when there was preparing to do. Still, instead of just getting right to work when there was no set time I needed to be primed to go, I sat up and took a few moments to survey the room.

It was still as small as the night before, not that logically that could have changed. The light that spilled through the half-closed window filled a good portion of the room, illuminating the door and our packs beside it. On the opposite side of the room, less than a foot from the bed, Kiba should have been completely unconscious in the shadow of the bed.

I was surprised to see he wasn't.

Akamaru was still sleeping. His gargantuan canine head rested next to Kiba's pillow, though I wasn't sure he had used it. Compared to how I positioned the beddings the night before, the pillow looked like it was thrown to a completely different place. Not that anything much was still in the same spot. My carefully arranged make-shift bed was in complete disarray, nothing but a pile of blankets thrown on the floor. Kiba should, by all possible calculations, still be residing in that mess of bedspreads. He was never up before he absolutely had to be—it was one of his most bothersome qualities, especially on a mission when speed was of the essence.

So why did he choose today of all days to wake up early? God knows, judging by the looks of the feudal lord we'd be left waiting for awhile before being called on.

I'd barely pulled my jacket around my shoulders before Kiba stepped out of the connected bathroom, water still dripping from his hair and a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. He stopped short when he spied me.

"Shino! You're awake."

"That I am."

"When d'you wake up?" I duly noted the way his eyes darted away not a second later than possible.

"Just now."

"I, uh, used the shower already." There was an attempt at a casual motion. It seemed to stiff for the usually loose ninja.

"I can see that." He blushed.

"Ah, right, of course." A half-hearted smile at his own stupidity, and yet another dodged look—Kiba was hiding something, any doubts were useless in this point.

He stood there for a full minute before even moving; with a small cough he walked slowly across the room to his back for some, thankfully, clean clothes. Though I watched him calmly the whole way, he was careful not to make any eye contact. Even when he was successful in his trek across the small-as-a-closet room, turned around and trudged his way back to the bathroom, a careful hand on his towel, he was careful to keep his gaze to the floor.

Now this was interesting.

As I dressed and cleaned up Kiba's discarded beddings my mind wandered again; Kiba's been making that happen a lot lately. It was so obvious he was hiding something, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it could be. It could be something from the past, again something he'd been hiding this whole trip and I'd only recently noticed his strange behavior. It seemed more plausible that it was something that started when we got here, in the feudal lords manor. We hadn't been here long; it couldn't have been something too big.

I stopped everything I had control over and just breathed. I needed to stay focused, not let my mind wander to places my body couldn't follow. For a shinobi, that could be the last thing they ever do.

I walked over to the window and used opening the curtains as an excuse to get a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately I forgot that included opening the window and letting in the chill of the outdoors. That damnable cold struck again. In this place, there was just no escaping it was there?

I was more than a little surprised to see it was close to noon; no wonder it was so bright out. With luck the feudal lord would be ready to set out soon, and we wouldn't be left waiting too much longer. At this rate we'd barely make it past the village limits before sundown.


	3. Chapter 3

Infernal, accursed, blamed, blasted, chthonian, confounded, cursed, cussed, damnable, demonic, devilish, diabolical, execrable, fiendish, hellish, malevolent, malicious, monstrous, , satanic, wicked, abhorrent, abominable, blessed, culpable, dang, darn, depraved, despicable, detestable, dratted, execrable, hateful, odious, offensive, outrageous. All the words in the thesaurus for such a thing and it still didn't feel like it added up to how I felt right now.

Stupid, stupid cold.

Why was I out in the frost-bitten wind again, so shortly after finding civilization? Not twenty-four hours before I'd been grinding my teeth as I listened to Kiba complain about his hunger and how much frigid water had found its way beneath his clothing. Only a couple of hours ago I'd been able to enjoy the warmth of an actual building, an actual bed that wasn't right on the ground and some food that hadn't been dipped in preservatives for the trip. Now I was right back where I was before, trailing my overactive teammate across the white snow covered barrens of the Snow Country.

We'd been successful in getting to the feudal lords mansion where we'd been summoned. Unfortunately he'd left out the scrap of information that we were to escort him to the mansion of yet another feudal lord halfway back home; back across the accursed ice and snow. Then he's likely to expect us to escort him back; again across the tundra he called home.

Not looking forward to that in the slightest. How I despised this mission above all others.

Ahead of me an escort of strong men carried my charge, the overly corpulent feudal lord of the Snow Country, in a sort of carriage that kept the man away from the snowdrifts he ruled over. If the man didn't like the cursed snow, why did he insist on living surrounded by the stuff? It seemed idiotic; which only furthered my theory that that particular man was unfit to govern a chicken coop, let alone a whole country.

Kiba and Akamaru barked and growled playfully to each other and zigzagged through the troop of helpers, ducking behind peoples just in time whenever a snowball whizzed through the air. Scowls decorated more than one unhappy traveler after Kiba ran past a couple times and melted snow dripped off at least a dozen paid escorts. I vaguely wondered if Kiba even noticed the dark gloom he had caused. My bets were on not. Just like he didn't notice when Akamaru had chosen me and not a tree as his latest shield.

Kiba's particularly large snowball flew through the air like it was made of something substantially denser than snow; it might as well have been a rock, for how much force was behind it. The loosely packed snow easily lost its spherical shape and I swear at least a good half of it found its hell-driven way into the collar of my jacket and into my shirt. I stopped walking with hope the loss of movement would stop the rapidly melting snow from wiggling deeper down my front.

"Oh shit." Kiba cursed. He silently bade the entourage to keep going without us and slowly started to where I stood, frozen as the snow. "Sorry Shino, it was an accident, I swear."

I knew from years of practice that I didn't even have to voice my anger to scare Kiba. He always was sensitive of people's feelings, especially of those close to him, and I took advantage of that now. His walking slowed even further when my first wave of fury washed over him.

When he finally reached me, with a hesitant hand he brushed the white substance off my shoulder, apologizing all the while. I couldn't help thinking how much I didn't care about the wretched snow on my jacket; it was the stuff inside that was bothering me. I glared in his direction and it was obvious he was getting more and more uncomfortable. It was fun to watch Kiba so uncomfortable. Almost made up for the freezing water making tracks down my chest; almost, but not quite.

"Kiba," I growled lightly. My partner, his face red with cold, took a hurried step back. How amusing it is to torment the poor boy, I felt bad about it sometimes, but it was just to fun too stop. How far could I get him to cower, I wonder? I followed him and he took another step away.

His face went through a rapid shifting of emotions. They were so fast that for a moment all the feelings he was trying to display melded together for a moment into the weirdest look I've ever seen. I couldn't even be sure what any of those sentiments were. Perhaps there was some embarrassment, some confusion or some defiance. It was all so mixed up; I doubt he knew what he was feeling himself.

Kiba did what he usually did and hid it behind a scowl. "Come on Shino. It was an accident and I've already apologized. It's not like I hurt you or anything."

"Kiba," I said again to be sure I had his attention, "You're bothering everyone, not just me."

"So?" he challenged.

"Stop it." There was nothing else to it.

Kiba opened his mouth, but whatever smart retort he had never made it past his lips. Instead his weird streak from the previous night continued. "Fine," He said much too submissively, "No more snowballs."

Yet another flag went up in my mind. Kiba was not submissive, never was, never will be. Even when on missions when listening to me could be the difference between making it without a scratch and being beaten near death Kiba always found some way to defy what I tell him. Once he even went as far as to completely ignore an order to look after an important charge during a fight.

It was a search and rescue mission. Kiba and I were to follow the trail of some rogue ninja from some little town that was holding the son of a rich merchant hostage. The merchant hadn't wanted to pay the ransom, so paid us instead. It was find the ninja and steal back the clients' son. Simple.

Or it was supposed to be.

Even with Kiba, especially with Kiba, the first part of the mission went very smoothly. Between Akamaru and my Kikai finding and following the trail left by the rogues had been easy as if they had painted a big red line. The rogues weren't much, retrieving the boy was like 'taking candy from a baby', as Kiba would put it. The mission should have been over then and there.

Of course the rogue ninjas tried to steal back their prize; judging from their earlier show, even that shouldn't have made much of a difference to our time getting back home. By my calculations that should have added an extra twenty-four hours to our journey at most—use their ambush against them, keeping sure that someone had an eye on the charge, clean up, rest if needed and that would be that.

To make sure the fight ended as quickly and easily as possible I, as the leader of the mission, decided using my parasitic insects would be easiest. Kiba got the job of watching our clients' son while I fed my insects the foreign chakra of my enemies. Using pure numbers I planned to overwhelm them. Quick, easy, painless.

I can only assume it was because he didn't get any action that Kiba outright defied my orders. He must have gotten antsy just watching, he's the type that needs action. For whatever reason Kiba shouldn't have joined the fight. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have had to reign in the chaos created by my letting loose my insects, the rogues would all be either dead or unconscious and they wouldn't have been able to get their hands back on the clients son. Kiba's stupid decision cost us a whole week of time and a good chunk of our paycheck.

Maybe Kiba finally discovered that listening to me was the easiest on him…probably not. There was definitely something wrong with the dog lover.

"Stop playing around. We're shinobi from a respectable village. We need to show we're serious."

"I am serious!" There was the expected reaction. Perhaps he wasn't as off as I thought.

"You're not showing it." And he wasn't. Though one could blame whatever personality problem Kiba was dealing with, this was a lesson he needed to learn anyway. "How can anyone think you're serious when all you're doing is playing around?"

"Playing around? Loosen up Shino; it's just a bit of fun. It's not like I'm slowing us down any."

"You're still-"

"Bothering peoples, I know! You've told me! I'll stop, okay? Let's go, before we lose the convoy. Bet that paranoid pig is sweating off all his fucking perfume." Kiba muttered, not even waiting for confirmation before heading off.

For approximately the hundredth time since this mission started I wondered what was bothering Kiba. New symptom: mood swings, I mentally catalogued. Mood swings and strange behavior. Perhaps Kiba was pregnant, the imbalance in hormones would account for the majority of his strange behavior. If he was somehow pregnant, that would imply that somehow the fact that he was female had slipped by me all these years, or that somehow a man could have the right organs to support a growing fetus. Such a thing wasn't unheard of…Could Kiba be a hermaphrodite?

Kiba must have noticed my gaze lingering on his retreating form while I was deep in thought. He whipped around and gave me what could have been a hurt glare, "What?" He snapped.

"Nothing." He stopped and turned his full attention to me.

"Like shit nothing! What?"

"Nothing." I walked past him, ignoring his intense scowl and only mildly contemplating this total shift in emotion.

"What?" He growled, furious beyond belief, as if all the anger he should have used earlier was being unleashed.

"Nothing," Stubborn determination rose in my chest. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Tell me anyway." He demanded, fisting my jacket to keep me from ignoring his request.

Kiba had long since lost whatever part of his mind had been infected by this strange disease. Insanity had a good hold on the younger boy. Raw determination to not give Kiba unnecessary information and my sense of fun dictated that I needed to get Kiba squirming again.

I grabbed his jacket and mirrored his glare, pulling his face closer to mine to intensify the scare. From what I could tell Kiba stopped his breathing and tightened his grip, but didn't do much else in the face of my mental onslaught. "You don't need to know." I said calmly.

"Maybe I want to know." He growled, childishness flowing off him like he just crawled out of a lake of it.

"But you don't have to know. It doesn't affect you, so I won't tell you. Let go. And go back to the caravan." I let go of him as an example. Kiba shook in rage for a moment before slowly getting over it and following my example. He took a slow step back. I gave him a firm, long look before curiosity overcame me. "What's wrong with you?" I asked.

A look akin to fear flashed across Kiba's face, then it went back to glaring angrily at me; a sure sign there was something he didn't want me to know, "Wrong? There's nothing wrong." He started back before I could question him any further.

Curious, I adjusted my glasses and followed him. "There is something most certainly wrong, Kiba. You're obviously distracted and can't keep your feelings in check."

"I've just got something on my mind." He said in a way that just screamed contempt. He seemed set on making this difficult. "It has nothing to do with you." He mimicked cruelly.

"You're distraction could ruin the mission, therefore it does have something to do with me." I counteracted with logic, then, in hopes of getting the youth to de-stress a little I added, "If you can just focus on the mission and keep your problems to yourself I don't need to know a thing."

He fell silent a minute to consider. Then his mood shifted and he went right back to being acquiescent. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I'll…I'll try to get over it." Again he started walking before I could question him further.

I waited a second, just watching him make footprints in the perfectly evil snow, trying to decide if I was happy with that answer. I suppose it was satisfactory, but Kiba's emotional eyes betrayed something that made me wonder if he really could keep good on that promise. Either way I couldn't force my teammate to share his personal thoughts with me, so I had to choice but to leave it.

Despite the lack of Kiba for a time the procession was no less gloomy when we returned. The maids still shivered—and glared at Kiba as he past—in the large coats that covered their skimpy uniforms. The butlers still stood in frozen huddles, whispering complaints among themselves while the men carrying the feudal just grumbled and continued on with their burden. Only the feudal lord himself was in a good mood, giggling and doing who knows what in the comfort of his carriage.

The day past in that insufferable state. Silence took over like another layer of snow. Not even Kiba and Akamaru escaped it. They walked in a troubled quietude, keeping their conversation between themselves. The dog nin was obviously anxious. I wonder if confronting him hadn't made the problem worse.

Kiba only broke his silent streak when it came about time to break camp. "The map shows a cave not too far ahead." He reported, "It'll take about half an hour to get there with this lot, but it's probably the best place to spend the night."

"Is it large enough to fit the whole caravan?" Including me and Kiba the caravan was made of fifteen peoples. The chances that the feudal lord would agree to leave his carriage outside were slim as well. If we were going to stay in a cave for the night there would need to be quite the amount of space.

Kiba paused, and then suggested he go ahead of the convoy to check out the space available.

I honestly didn't bother to even think it over; anything to get out of this blasted snow was fine with me. "Go." I ordered without the slightest hesitation, "Be quick and report back."

Kiba must have a good sense of timing or something, just after he disappeared from view the cooped up lord hollered for attention. With Kiba out of the picture, I had to be the one to attend to him. "Are we stopping soon?" he complained. Everything this stupid man said was like a little kid. I don't even want to imagine how much his attendants must suffer tending to him.

"Kiba is checking out a suitable place to spend the night. We'll stop to rest as soon as he comes back."

"How long will that be? I want to stop now." Selfish pig.

"Half an hour, my lord."

"Half an hour!" The complaining was so high pitched I highly doubt the maids and butlers missed it. Must have been a regular occurrence; no one came running as one might expect.

"Unless we camp out in the snow, it's the best I can do, I'm afraid."

"Get the runners to go faster, then!" He banged his flabby fist on the thin wall of his carriage.

"I'm sorry," Normally being courteous to a client come naturally. Something about this man made it hard to remember that he was the lord of the entire Snow Country. His position deserves respect, even if he doesn't warrant it. "I'm afraid there's no use until Kiba reports back on the location. That'll be another ten minutes, at least."

The feudal lord went silent for a minute and I hoped he'd been convinced there was nothing I could do. He just started at me. If it was anyone else I might have thought they were studying me for any reaction I might have. Maybe the feudal lord was imagining some kind of high grade stake or chocolate. Impossible to know, but his eyes narrowed like I wasn't a high enough grade for him and the skin that past as a chin jiggled for no apparent reason. "There's nothing you can do?" He huffed. A pout just barely showed itself against the lord's thin lips.

"No, my lord, nothing. But when Kiba returns we'll do everything in our power to hurry to the site." I promised to appease the egotistic lord. "It will not be much longer before we can break camp."

He mulled over the idea, no doubt deciding whether to use his position against me. After a length he said, "As quick as possible. Remember that."

"Of course, my lord." I would have promised anything he could have wanted though he seemed the type to hold me to that. For a man like this I wouldn't give much if I could help it. Out of habit I waited to leave to be sure there was nothing else he needed.

"Well," He snapped, "Go see if your friend is back."

It took more will power than it should have to simply grit my teeth, "Of course." Though it meant returning to the snow I had to admit I was glad to leave the man's presence-

-until the snow wormed its wet way into my shoes anyway. I was ready to get to that cave, whether Kiba finds it big enough or not. A full day of snow, Kiba and a spoiled lord was more taxing than I expected. More than a full day of training.

My insects thrummed against the chill as a strong wind blew in. Another flurry of wet, sticky snowflakes came with it, stinging my skin and that of the attendants. The wind was straining to be a full on storm when Kiba finally returned, bringing the blissful news of the cave being suitable. Without even questioning his measurements I reported to the feudal lord. He scowled at the fifteen minutes it would take to get there and when we finally did he glared at everyone until his plush tenet was assembled.

It was insane that the lord thought he needed. His tent was easily twice as big as he needs, even to fit his excessive bulk. He had a whole parade of fold up furniture marched into it, despite the fact we'd only be here a few hours. He even had the maids bring him multiple pairs of nightclothes while the butlers sorted through at least half our food supply. I'd have to talk to them to be sure they don't deplete it necessarily.

The cave was nice, big and empty, not even many rocks to move to create flat ground. The mouth was thankfully facing away from the wind, protecting us from the majority of the wind, which had finally become a storm. It was relatively warm in the cave, compared to the outside. The fire crackled nicely too.

My kikai settled down for the night, welcoming the slight warmth. I welcomed the feeling.

But it's still cold, still uncomfortably so. Even surrounded by _x _tons of rock we were still in the barren Snow Country out in the elements and fearfully hiding from a storm that may or may not blow itself out by morning. Again, I'll have to talk with the butlers to keep food consumption to a minimum in case we'll have to weather out that storm for awhile.

My mood doesn't lighten by much. I mentally kept my emotions in check so I didn't take out my growing anger on the help. Kiba wasn't coming close enough for me to criticize hum until my mood elevated. Damn canine instincts.

Finally, after rechecking the perimeter I deemed us safe enough and went to settle down for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Kiba growled lightly in the background as I started to set up my travel bed. I had to concentrate solely on my actions to keep my impatience to myself; I was more than ready for the warmth of my blankets. There wasn't even any snow in the cave, but I could still hear the frozen whistle of the wind. Sleep would be a nice respite from my own inner whining.

I fumbled one of the things that happened to be packed on top of my pillow.

"…what's up with you Shino?" My teammate beat me to picking it up. "You seem really, I don't know, uncomfortable or something."

He looked me as straight in the eye as one could with my glasses and dropped the bauble in my outstretched hand. Offense was the best defense, "Uncomfortable or something? Really, Kiba, that's really helpful. I'll be sure to work on that." And I went back to unpacking, hoping that was enough to turn Kiba away from that thought process.

He gave me a full, long look. "I hope you do." If I'm not mistaken when he turned away to unfold his own blanket he felt the need to add a whispered "'Cause it's creeping me out."

That brought an unwanted smile to my face. I wonder if he even had an inkling of knowledge as to how out of character he's been lately. My affliction with the cold didn't hold a candle to his bizarre silence. Kiba's not silent, ever.

Only then did I realize just how strange Kiba's behavior was—considering everything seemed to bring me back to it—and that I was beyond tired of thinking about it. Kiba's so annoying and tiring; I'm surprised no ones died from over exposure.

I stripped off my coat so I could change my shirt. For the first time this trip I couldn't suppress the shiver as it forced the hairs on my arms upright. It was colder than I thought, even in the tent.

I forced my muscles to lock before the shiver took over. If I was lucky Kiba wasn't still trying to catch a clue to my bad mood. Another wave of cold came instead, sending an all too visible shiver up my spine before I could stop it. I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to hide the spastic jerking followed by the rush of goose bumps that plagued me.

A blanket wound itself around my shoulders. For a second I was just grateful for the warmth it brought with it and kept in. then, once the buzzing of my Kikai had subsided some, I realized what should have been the first thing to come to mind. There were arms that came with the blanket and were clasped around my neck.

Kiba was hugging me.

"Kiba?" I couldn't seem to bring myself to turn and look at him. That would seem to intimate, especially should anyone come looking for us. Not to mention then he might catch the relief stuck on my face. It was so nice to share his warmth.

Even with him completely hidden from my view, if the heat that burned into my shoulder was any indicator, I could tell Kiba had an unmanly blush decorating his face. "…yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. I'm cold." He answered quietly.

He's cold? Yeah, right. There was something about him, whether it was a subtle tremble in his voice or a little push to far into my personal bubble (a place he knows not to go) that made it far too obvious he was lying. He'd noticed my shiver and for whatever reason he'd taken it upon himself to…help?

I searched my soul, yet I couldn't sense awkwardness in the contact. Instead I found I had to almost fight the urge to lean back into the warm, firm chest of the boy holding me from behind. I wanted to turn around and wrap my arms around his waist, I wanted to fully indulge in the body heat he was offering. That would involve skin to skin contact; that would involve hugging him back.

"…Alright." I gave into some unspoken will and allowed Kiba to continue with this strange idea.

"Thanks." He relaxed his grip. His relieved sigh came as a hot wind that tickled my shoulder and I instinctively relaxed.

Kiba is so tiring to think about. I'd been contemplating him all day no, now I just didn't have the strength. Though it was very out of character for Kiba to leave behind his masculinity and pride I didn't question it. Tomorrow I'd wonder about it; it would give me something to take my mind off the cold and feudal lords many pointless demands.

Right now I just lost myself in the radiating warmth that was Kiba and a blanket.

The small rustling of a lost servant outside the tent brought form of sense crashing back. Kiba was my teammate, my friend and we're in a flimsy tent, in some cave in the middle of the frigid Snow Country with fifteen other peoples. Anyone could come knocking for some reason or another. Anyone could easily misunderstand the situation. I wasn't even sure I understood the situation myself.

I shrugged my shoulders to disengage Kiba's hold. His arms fell easily and disappeared along with his warmth. Kiba took the message and stepped back across the tent to his side. By the time I collected myself to turn and face my comrade he had his back to me, the blanket he'd shared wrapped firmly around himself. As he had all day, Kiba kept strangely silent, whatever he was thinking he kept to himself. Akamaru gave his master a long look, a low woof and pushed comfortingly against his leg.

Seeing that Kiba had nothing to say on what he'd just done, I saw no reason to bring it up either. I let the silence hang in the air. In response Kiba tightened the blanket around his shoulders. I went back to changing, wanting nothing more than to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day of trudging through snow; both boring and annoying to the extremes of each case. The sooner I face that day, the sooner it would finish. Sooner I get to sleep, the more energy I'd have to see it through.

A small, unidentified sound caught the edge of my attentions. I turned, curious, as it sounded again. Kiba hadn't budged from where he stood, still wrapped in the blanket. He shivered, despite the covering, an uncontrolled trembling that coursed periodically from head to toe. He made the sound again, something between a gasp and a throaty cough.

"Kiba? Are you alright? You sound like you're coming down with something." I asked; he sounded terrible.

His trembling slowed, and he stopped with the strange coughing noise. "No," His voice sounded thick and forced, "I mean, yes. I'm fine. Just cold is all. I need to get to sleep."

Kiba snaked a hand from his cocoon and gently patted Akamaru and following up on his word and slipping into his sleeping bag. He rigidly kept his back to me. Once Akamaru seemed satisfied his master wouldn't be moving the dog took up home at his feet. It looked, for as much as appearances are worth, that Kiba had fallen asleep.

I went on with my own sleep preparations. In the back of my mind I made sure to keep an eye on Kiba. In such a barren country there was little anyone could do if someone got sick. If Kiba had even the slightest cold it had to be treated quickly, otherwise it could easily escalate into something worse.

The very thought of having to deal with the demanding feudal lord without Kiba and his peoples skills made my blood run colder that the ice outside out cave. I would definitely keep an eye on Kiba's health for the next few days to keep him in good condition.

My eyes slid over Kiba's immobile form a last time before settling into the warmth of my blankets.

I don't want to get out of bed. A simple wish; a stupid one. I know how cold it is outside. I know leaving my encasing will make me miserable and I know I'll take it out on everyone. Being isolated with a couple of the most aggravating peoples in the world in the _cold_ barren snow country made keeping my irritation in check…difficult.

And I know I have to get up, face the day and whatever it may bring. I counted slowly down from three, trying to prolong the moment when I'd have to face the cold, yet still trying to motivate myself into moving.

Kiba was already up and gone, Akamaru as well. His bed was made, nearly ready to put back in his pack and take away. He must have been up awhile to be so ready to leave.

The camp was fairly bustling when I exited my tent. Already the lords' servants were working on various things: stocking the fire for warmth, taking down tents they won't need anymore, shuffling through the food supply for appropriate breakfast material.

The winds have stopped howling outside the caves entrance, meaning they would be able to continue on their journey today. When I went to examine outside the sky was a bright shade of grey and the snow just reflected the light a hundred fold. I suppose, to the snow country this was probably considered perfect weather.

It was absolutely disgusting. Not only were our tracks from yesterday completely washed away, there was at least a foot and a half of new snow. Added to yesterday's foot it was evident we'd be dragging the caravan through waist deep white gunk.

"Mr. Shino?" I turned to see one of the servants who insisted on addressing me like I was of a higher status. "Breakfast has been prepared and the Master wishes to see you and your partner afterwards."

I nodded and followed him to the fire to accept a bowl of spiced oatmeal and some bread. He tried to give me some of the fruits that had been cleaned for the feudal lord. Accepting those would be like accepting that I was a higher status with the right to give him orders.

"Where is my partner?" I asked before he left to feed his master, "I haven't seen him today."

"I believe he's been exploring the rear of the cavern." He replied dutifully.

The servants left me alone before I'd even nodded my thanks. In my mind I was planning my approach to the meeting. I'd have to go find Kiba before seeing the feudal lord. Maybe I'd wait for someone to search me out instead of approaching the feudal lord on my own. That would save me the trouble of guessing when would be a good time to interrupt him.

Kiba ruined that plan by appearing even as I prepared to go in search of him. Akamaru came and faithfully sat his bulk down near to me in preparation of Kiba joining us.

I raised my eyebrow as he detoured around me to raid the food stock. "Anything interesting in the rear of the cave?" I asked.

"Just a bunch of rocks and stuff." He barely glanced my way.

His indifference was starting to get on my nerves; it was just so out of character for him.

"The feudal lord is expecting us for a meeting before we set out." I informed him.

"Let's go then." He didn't even wait for any approval of the idea before making his way to the oversized tent that housed our employer.

It was probably the worst possible time to step into that tent. I think I would have rather have stepped out into the two and a half feet of snow outside our current rocky refuge. The feudal lord had finished his breakfast and had moved on with his morning schedule. He was changing. With help.

The feudal lord's overly large gut was bared to the world as he labored to remove his night clothes. All five of his maids stood around waiting for orders. I noticed the crude lord was completely comfortable stripping in front of theses five unfortunate ladies. Such a plush feudal lord no doubt refused to dress himself.

I bowed my head and pretended to bask in his magnificence as an excuse to look away. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, my lord. We were told you wanted to speak with us before we set out. We can come back later if need be.

He turned to face as full on, totally unabashed that the movement did nothing to raise my already low thoughts of his figure. He really was a disgusting man.

Regrettably Kiba wasn't as adept at hiding his distaste.

The feudal lord took no notice; just spread his arms so the maids could drape the first of the many layers of his outfit. "No need. This just means we can get going that much faster."

And we'd be that much closer to ending this agonizing mission, I thought to myself. Out loud I gave a polite _of course_ and left him continue.

"How far do we have to go you think? I'd like to get there soon."

"Last nights storm blew itself out, so we'll be able to leave. But all the new snow's going slow us down." Kiba told him.

I nodded and added on, "If we manage to keep up a pace similar to yesterday, despite the new snow, I'd imagine we'd arrive by midday tomorrow. As it is, tomorrow evening or even the day after is more likely."

The feudal lord frowned, "The day after isn't good enough. We'll get there tomorrow."

"Have you seen all the snow out there?" Kiba spat.

"That may not be possible." I rushed to cover Kiba's outburst. "Why not? The amount of snow will no doubt slow us down. We will do what we can to keep schedule though."

"You better," He grunted as one of the maids tightened a belt around his middle. "I won't accept being embarrassed because my guards couldn't get me there on time."

I ignored the obvious rudeness and politely dragged my teammate from the tent.

"Prick." Kiba seethed. He seemed just short of mimicking the rude lord in a mocking falsetto.

Before he could insult our employer further a score of butlers—along with the occasional maid not on duty—appeared. They looked to us for news of the lord's mood, for orders to follow. I had a tendency of fully enjoying the feeling of being important and giving orders. Having people listen to my every word was gratifying. I am well aware that I don't demand attention, and that attentions tended to drift elsewhere id my ideas weren't totally captivating. Even so, the blank faces of the servants ready to follow even the most lewd order set my nerves on edge and my kikaichu shifting nervously.

"It's best if we pack up quickly. Why? So we'll be ready to move when the feudal lord is prepared. We'll distribute the weight of the cargo accordingly." I told them. AS one they nodded to us. When I looked to Kiba to see if he had anything to add, he just mumbled something about the consequences of this new snow, then let everyone get to work.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a long two days of walking, wading—and practically swimming at times—through the snow. It had been hard going. The feudal lord pushed the caravan to its limits, stopping only when the encroaching darkness made it too dangerous to continue.

It would have been a severe understatement to even begin to explain the relief of the crew when we left the snow country, and again when we arrived at our destination. The maids and butlers weren't used to any sort of long term exercise. Even the carriage bearers weren't trained for this sort of strenuous trip and had been straining to keep the carriage far enough above the ground.

The feudal lord of the Snow Country waltzed into the home of the Lighting Country's lord with hardly a pause for the protocol welcome. Anyone watching would be in danger of assuming he owned the place.

Kiba and I, no matter how weary we might have been, had to run to keep up with him. We were forced to leave the rest of the caravan to get their tired selves settled on their own.

The home the Lightning Country's Feudal Lord spoke well of him, in my opinion. Every room we passed was open and inviting, but I could tell they were still easily defensible. The furnishings, while still extravagant, weren't the same overly plush my current employer enjoyed in his home. It was neat; everything had a place and was kept in that place. Maids danced through the outlying rooms with feather dusters in hand, making everything a step farther than perfect for the Feudal Lord's colleagues.

Being too busy watching the maids—though technically I suppose he could have been admiring the décor—Kiba had to stumble into a pedestal. What I think used to be an ancient tea set met the floor with a jarring crash. In seconds ninja from the lightning country sealed every exit and sent wary looks our way.

"Sorry, sorry man. An accident, I swear." Kiba smartly backed away from the destroyed artifact. He seemed to be trying to smile his way out trouble, which I'm sure always worked for him. "I would say I'd pay for that, but I'm kinda afraid of the price, y'know?"

None of the lightning ninja even cracked a smile.

"State your names and business." One said professionally.

"Why the hell do you think you can be in the Feudal Lord's house?" A younger man drew a blade and used it to gesture at my comrade. From the looks shared by the rest of them, I'd guess he hasn't long had that particular job.

Kiba snarled at him, his hand already straying towards his own weapons. To borrow Shikamaru's favorite saying, Kiba was proving to be very troublesome. Very absent minded.

As usual I was going to have to play peacemaker for Kiba's messes. I raised empty hands in the time honored symbol of complete surrender.

"Name and business." The first ninja reminded me.

"Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba."

"Of the Leaf village I can see." Another ninja interrupted. He was mirroring Kiba, hands hovering within grabbing distance of his weapons in case we proved dangerous. "Don't go telling us you're here with your feudal lord. The feudal lord of the Fire Country is already here and his guards have been identified. We'll know you're imposters."

"Good thing we're _not_ here with the Fire Country feudal lord." Kiba snapped. "We're here with the goddamned Snow Country feudal lord. We're his guards and if you let us through to do our jobs we'll be identified and everything will be fine, 'kay?"

At this, our employer appeared at the door behind the wall of lightning nin. He filled most of the doorway, but other feudal lords managed to peer around him.

"What are you doing?" He screeched suspiciously like a little girl. He pushed through the wall of ninja so he could hiss at us more privately. "I told you not to embarrass me!"

"What happened here?" The feudal lord of the Lightning Country stepped regally into the room. He looked at his guard for answers, "Well?"

"I, uh, broke something sir. Sorry." Kiba called out. He even managed to cow his fierce temper and look apologetic while doing it.

"I wasn't asking you." The feudal lord said curtly. "Reto?"

Across the small room from my current position one of the bulkier shinobi bowed to his lord. He looked to be the oldest, making him most likely the highest ranking.

"We reacted to a crash, fearful that a fight had broken out so early in the delegations. These two were here alone, exactly as you see them, sir." He reported. "They hail from

The Leaf village, though they claim to be escorting the Snow country's lord."

The lord considered that for a moment, then turned to look at his snow country counterpart. Our bulbous employer jiggled nervously under the gaze of everyone.

"Well Futoimaru? Are these two your men?"

"Obviously they are not _my_ men, seeing as they come from Ozai's country." He sent us direct scowls, like we were stains on his exquisite silk kimono. "But I did hire them, so I suppose that does make then my guards, unfortunately."

My own feudal lord appeared in the doorway with his own disapproving looks. We stood silently under his glare, aware of how we made our village look.

"Don't you have your shinobi Futoimaru? Are they really so weak that you'd use ninja from another country?"

"Of course not!" He spluttered pathetically before he managed to compose himself. "Of course I have my own shinobi, and every one of them is strong and well trained. Better than some of yours I would bet." He sent a haughty look to his fellow Feudal Lords. It was a child's look, a child with a better toy. "In this sort of petty situation, why waste the lives of my men? Why not those of someone else? That's what I figure anyway."

I stayed still and silent while he retreated into the room beyond. Every instinctive nerve in me sought the chance to unleash my insects and cause some major destruction to that man. Kiba was obviously fighting those same thoughts. The feudal lord of the Snow Country really had a way of collecting loyalty. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if he had hired us because his own men had refused to protect his pathetic life.

On his own way into the meeting room, the lighting feudal lord signaled to his guard. Some faster than others, they all put away their weapons and backed away to a less threatening distance. Of course, they didn't release us from their scrutiny.

Kiba was relieved to distance himself from the object of his misery. With a last glance at the broken china he quietly joined me as we followed our employer.

Having already provided the details of our strange employment, the registration was over quickly. Within minutes me and Kiba had sworn that we weren't threats and been promised that none of the other shinobi were either.

It was late. Soon after the lords' finished their initial greetings and tour we were all led to our rooms. Each lord was given a large, plush room of their choosing. Hidden behind moving panels a door connected his room to another smaller one. It was a simple servant's room, sparsely furnished with multiple beds. It was here that Kiba and I would be staying, along with a few of the butlers should the feudal lord need assistance with anything. The maids were kept in another room close by, down the hall. The carriage carriers and remaining servants stayed with the Lightning feudal lords servants in their wing.

It was the most comfortable I'd been in days, even if I was doomed to share the room. There was no lingering chill or nagging guilt over making Kiba take the floor. No sharing space or having to worry about packing up quickly the following morning.

In the few moments before sleep stole me away I reflected a last time on Kiba. He'd been more subdued since seeing our own feudal lord and having him so obviously judge us. Thankfully he seemed to realize that even if we came with a pig of a man we had to be on our best behavior lest word of get to the Hokage. Whatever he had been bothered by before didn't seem to be bothering him now, which was a good thing.


	6. Chapter 6

I had three days of peace; warmth and food provided. We followed the feudal lords' schedule, which included more hours set to sleeping than strictly necessary. Somehow Kiba managed to stop our butler roommates from treating us like superiors, and then proceeded to prove he had no poker skills. I didn't join in their games, but it was amusing to watch.

It was a simple mission, as I'd predicted. At most, the feudal lords spent a few hours a day on the actual subject of their talks. The rest of the time was spent socializing among themselves. Many of them had known each other since childhood and these meetings were a place to catch up with each other. Now that we were out of that snow covered wasteland it was almost pleasurably easy. A simple mission was nice every once and awhile, no matter the characteristics of the employer.

On the fourth day we had to begin preparations to head back to the snow country. We were slotted to leave on the sixth day, but the fifth day would be too busy with the feudal lords' final details. We'd be leaving early, when we do manage to leave, so everything has to be ready in advance.

It was the first time in days I was alone, or almost alone. All my roommates, save Kiba, were currently in the kitchen with all the other servants. Together they were trying—and have been some for some time—to separate food stores to last all the separate feudal lords to their homes. Our employer was in his room, presumably with his maids as I doubt he knows how to do much on his own. His thin giggle passed through the thin walls every few minutes as proof he was still alive.

I was taking the downtime. It's been so busy I've hardly had time to read this whole mission and my book was all but screaming for some attention.

Kiba was flitting around the room. During our stay he's managed to spread his belongings into every nook and cranny. Now, with our departure imminent, he was scrambling to find it all and somehow stuff it back in his pack. Of course I knew where most of his things were, but I left him to his own devices. For years I've been telling him the advantages of keeping his things orderly, and if he refuses to learn it's his own fault.

I'll be sure to grab whatever he leaves behind.

Kiba bounded into my area and pounced on the row of water bottles I'd recued earlier. They were all lined up neatly in a row away from harm—or were. Now Kiba was determinately shoving them wherever he could find room. I watched him struggle for a moment before he realized and when he did his shoulders tensed. It was as if he was expecting me to attack him.

"Finding everything all right, Kiba?"

"Yeah, course," he chuckled, lightly embarrassed, "I'm finding everything. I suppose you put these here, so uh, thanks man."

He was looking at me from his position on the floor. In a way, somewhere in the back of my mind, the feeling of superiority nagged at me. It was different from the cold superiority of ruling over the lord servants and having them scramble to follow my orders. It was a warmer feeling, pleasant.

Something about seeing him at this angle made him resemble the house pet aspect of dogs, rather than the fierce wildness he usually tried to exude. I'm sure girls would call it cute.

"You're welcome, but did you know there would be no need if you kept your things where you knew where they were." I told him, yet again. "Why? So you can avoid all this."

He smiled at me, not wanting the same lecture yet again. Of course I had no inclination to retell that lecture another time either.

"There's more," I told him on a sudden whim, "Under the bed. Make sure you remember that too."

"Really?" He dived under my bed and I could feel him moving around. It was easy to tell when he found it, he gave a muffled "I knew it!"

If I shared his level of immaturity, I believe I would have kicked him, "It would be impolite to forget things in a feudal lords home."

"Which is why I've got you, right? You probably know where all my stuff is, and you just aren't telling me." He pouted.

I said nothing, just stared evenly at him. It was true, of course, but he didn't need to know that. For a moment, I considered returning my attention to my book. In fact, I almost did, but Kiba muttered something under his breath that I just couldn't turn a deaf ear to.

"Excuse me?"

"Hmm?" Kiba startled. As usual, he tried to play for cool, but his eyes gave away his discomfort. It was a shame, because otherwise he'd be a great actor. "Um, you know you don't have to ask to go to the bathroom, right Shino?"

Thin humor. Sometimes putting the pressure on Kiba can be amusing.

"What was that about me?" I knew what he'd said. It would be better if he admitted it.

"I didn't say anything about you. Don't be so selfish Shino."

"Selfish? I thought I was a sadist."

The look on his face was priceless: embarrassment with an underlying layer of fear and terror. Minutes went by in pleasing silence, with Kiba struggling for a way to redeem himself.

"Damn Shino," He huffed, defeated, "You just play with my head. Damn." He ruffled his hair, as he tended to do when he was nervous.

The sweet taste of triumph. Now I could allow myself to return to my book.

Just like that I was thrown back into the world, forced to march my own way back to the cold, wet, horrid misery that was known as the snow country. But, I reminded myself every few miles, at the very least every step is one step closer to home.

We'd managed to leave without the same explosion we'd entered with. Almost on time too, the feudal lord had managed to get his girth wrapped up in under an hour. Kiba had found the majority of his possessions and managed not to break any more priceless artifacts.

He _had_ managed to tread quite literally on my toes and as of yet hasn't apologized. I tried to forgive him his haste, but now that we were hours into the march I had expected some word. It was only polite.

Though as time went on Kiba seemed to forget more and more of his manners. He grew quiet when spoken to and was loud and raucous at every other moment. He was obviously losing his patience with how the lord's servants treated us. Our roommates had reverted back to being polite and subservient in front of their lord, and Kiba was getting angry.

"Come on man, you promised to tell me about the time you went to the hot springs country," Kiba pestered Hoshu, one of the smaller butlers who had a habit of always combing back his hair, "and about the girl you met there."

"I'm sorry, Kiba, I can't. I have work to do right now." Hoshu dodged. He bowed slightly and scurried away, an obvious escape from having to talk to Kiba.

Kiba growled. I could see his anger; it was rolling off him in waves. His lips tightened around his teeth, he avoided looking at people and his hands moved restlessly to Akamaru's fur. All signs he was furious to the point where words were lost to him, which did not happen often.

"Kiba," I called to him softly. I couldn't leave him like this, especially when we could be called on by the feudal lord at any second.

"What?" he snapped.

"Talk to me."

"About what? You don't know Honshu's story do you? That's all I wanted."

"We've already had this conversation Kiba." I said calmly watching his eyes as he glared unhappily over my shoulder, "You're visibly upset. You promised me you wouldn't let whatever this is get to you."

"It's not! I mean, it's not the same thing. I just hate that these bastards are treating us better is all. It's pissing me off." His eyes were dancing away. A refusal to acknowledge the words that were coming out of his mouth, natural signs he was lying. Again.

"Kiba—"

"That's _all_, Shino." He pursed his lips, trying to find a way to convince me, "Just leave me alone. I'm _fine_."

"_Fine_ would great," I told him, "and if you were _fine_ I wouldn't be bothered to voice to you my concerns."

"_Concerns?_ What concerns, Shino? You haven't _voiced_ any _concerns_. All you've told me is that I need to get my act together." Kiba lost whatever composure he'd managed to hold onto. Why that choice of words would bother him so much I couldn't even begin to fathom.

"I'm concerned that you _can't _get your act together. I'm concerned that I'm not sure you've had your act together this entire time." I explained, starting to lose my cool, "I would like it if you could either tell me what it is that is bothering you or, if you can't—since you seem so determined not to—that you at least have the dignity to not allow it to hamper your work."

"You would like? Why can't you just say you want? You _want_ me to shut up. You don't care what's bothering me; you just want me to shut up. Say it Shino. Just say it."

"Kiba!" It was a struggle to keep my voice mild. I wanted to look around, to check that the rest of the caravan wasn't attracted by Kiba's outbursts, but I had the feeling that looking away, even behind the safety of my glasses would be taken as affirmation.

"Seriously Shino, just leave me alone. I'll do it, I'll shut up. I'll do what you want even when it's so obvious that you don't notice or care what _I_ want!"

"What?" I growled back, wanting desperately to drag Kiba closer by his collar, "What is it you want that is making this particular mission so much harder for you than any other?"

He stopped, the words caught in his throat. His breath hitched and he looked away. "You."


	7. Chapter 7

"I want you Shino."

Want me? It seemed Kiba had lost all his sense. Suddenly I was more worried about his mental health. "What do you want from me Kiba?" I asked calmly, trying to gauge where he was at.

"Just kiss me," Kiba said in a rush. In a second his anger had become desperation that poured out of him and left me more confused with every word, "and I'll be able to move on. No. Don't. I'll never get over it. Oh god, I'm so screwed up." He turned away while I struggled to puzzle out a response, "I'm sorry Shino. I just…I just can't ignore you anymore. I can't pretend you're not all sexy and attractive and I _really_ shouldn't be saying _any _of this."

No words. I had absolutely no words. They were lost, run away across the empty lands around us; maybe waiting in the frozen wasteland so I could find it them in the future. That was no good. I needed them now. I may have little people skills, but I could see it in the curve of Kiba's shoulders that he needed words. He needed _my_ words, no one else's.

And yet in my silence I wanted nothing more than some annoying squeaky maid to come, for the feudal lord to demand my presence for some insignificant matter. I wanted an excuse to leave and take time to come up with a proper response to this.

Was there a proper response to this? A proper analysis might yield one, I thought, if I could take the time. It would have to be rushed, considering the circumstances. Start with the basics: who, what, when, where, why, how. Who? Kiba. When? Now. Where? Here, approximately four hours away from the Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning's house. How? With quite a few sputters and spurts, that was for sure. Alright, simple questions with simple answers. Encouraging. What?

What was this? What was Kiba trying to accomplish with this awkward display? There was a word for this, one that had escaped me same as the rest. Admission? Proclamation? Concession? Not quite….confession! That was it. This was a confession of…

Baloney, bunk, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, foolishness, hogwash, idiocy, ludicrousness, poppycock, ridiculousness, rigmarole, tomfoolery, twaddle.

BS, applesauce, bull, craziness, farce, flapdoodle, folly, foolishness, hot air, idiocy, illogicality, illogicalness, improbability, inanity, incongruity, insanity, irrationality, jazz, jive, ludicrousness, ridiculousness, senselessness, silliness, stupidity, unreasonableness.

Crap. No…

Love.

"Kiba…" I wanted to curse. They seemed to be the only words left that would pass my lips with any semblance of sense, but I couldn't for fear of how Kiba would react. I still had no proper response. I hadn't answered the last question, and had no answer for it, "Why?"

His shoulders slid up around his neck, shutting away anything he might have said. Was it that he didn`t know the answer or simple that now he didn`t believe he could say it anymore? I wondered. I found myself watching him in silence, watching the breath go in and out of him in a constant nervous rush. It came as a sudden realization, and it angered me just as much as it did ten minutes ago; Kiba was still refusing to share with me his problems.

I'd known him for years, most of which I've considered him a friend and thought he did the same for me. More often than I'd like he came to see me just for the sake of talking. He enjoyed sharing his life with other people, me in particular because I got used to listening to it and didn't tell him to stop half as often as anyone else.

"Kiba, the situation hasn't changed. I'm listening if you have things to say, or you can choose to keep this to yourself, with the condition that it doesn't continue to impinge on our mission." There was more I had to say, more that he needed to hear that I didn't know how to say, "I apologize if I'm a distraction. From now on I will take care not to do anything that will cause you unnecessary awkwardness and will be understanding if I accidently do."

I had nothing else to say, and obviously Kiba didn't either. Our job was still protecting the Feudal Lord until he reached his home and we couldn't do that so far behind the caravan. I started back.

"Shino," Kiba called, so quietly I almost didn't hear it over the sound of the wind. He wouldn't look at me when I turned to face him, "It's not—um, don't think it's your fault. I'm—I don't know how to deal with this right now."

"Shall I go on ahead?" Space was often recommended in these kinds of complicated situations, right? I know I needed it.

"Sure. I'll catch up later."

The caravan had gotten further ahead than I thought it would, and it took awhile to meet up with it. It was in chaos. The feudal lord wanted to see his guards and had refused to believe that we had strayed. He hadn't let any of his various servants leave in search of us either, just gotten angrier every minute we didn't appear.

Now here was the distraction I needed fifteen minutes ago.

"Where have you been?" Spittle flew around as the Feudal Lord blustered, his face swollen and red.

"My apologies." If only it were possible to project calm onto other people. Situations such as these would be completely avoided.

"I don't want your apology. I want to know where you were while you supposed to be doing your _job_! Why didn't I know I was at risk because my guards were away?"

"Kiba and I had some business that was best done away from the group," I explained, "though admittedly it took longer than was meant to. We had not thought to allow you to travel so far ahead."

"Meaning you didn't think," the lord roared, "obviously! If you had you would have thought about my safety and done what I'm wasting my money to have you do!"

And what I'm wasting my time pretending to care about. Oh, how this man just infuriated me. He made it nearly impossible to consider saving his life is it ever came into danger—who would want to get close enough to him to even shout a threat I couldn't imagine.

Just when I realized that I had nothing nice to say to such an awful man Kiba saved me. He ducked in with a friendly grin, though there was a nervous droop on the left side. "Hey, what seems to be the problem?"

I gave way to let him handle the childish feudal lord. His social skills were more suited to the task.

His shoulders were tensed, despite his easy manner; I must be making him nervous. With good reason I suppose. Was he tense like this that first night in the tent? Knowing his feelings now, that moment of compassion must have been hard to do. It must have been harder when I'd rejected his touch.

Of course I had liked it first.

But Kiba didn't know that.

And I don't know what it means in terms of this new information.

From then on Kiba kept even further away from me. He walked with the entire caravan between us and slept under the stars while I took the tent. I couldn't find the same anger and frustration it caused me before. I gave him the space and I took the space he offered me. I couldn't seem to shake the confusion he had left though. Everything was still scattered no matter how much time I spent trying to piece it all together.

Through it all I realized a sort of emptiness. A place beside me that was supposed to be noisy all the time had gone quiet. The feudal lord would be particularly obstinate about something, and I would wait with a reprimand for some stupid retort that would never come. Kiba was my friend—my _best _friend. Since the moment we were put in team 8 together I don't much more than a few days had passed without seeing him. Now all of a sudden it had been a nearly four days since we had spoken, though I could not get him out of my sight.

Even after the feudal lord was returned home, even when we were put back in that rudely small room together not a word was passed between us. I recognized, when I looked for it, that it was our years of working together that made it possible for us to work so in sync without so much as a whisper of discussion.

The village was on the horizon before I knew it. With a start I realized I had run out of time.

"Kiba," I didn't have a plan, all I knew was that I had to say something. Somehow I was sure that if I didn't I would never get the chance. Kiba stopped, but he didn't turn to face me. "Kiba," I repeated more forcefully. I needed to see his face, his reaction.

Slowly he looked over his shoulder. It was an eternity before his eyes rose to meet mine. There was so much uncertainty there, and a heartbreaking resignation. It broke my heart to see it there, to know I had put it there and that I had let it fester the past week.

The painful look was met with silence. Again faced with this complicated problem my words failed me. I could feel my throat close around the guilt of hurting him like this. Precious seconds went by like this, and I could see the pain being etched deeper into his face.

_Breath_. "I don't know what to say," It came out low and broken, pretty close to how I imagine Kiba felt. He heard it, and immediately I knew that it was something I should have kept to myself.

Any light left in Kiba's eyes died, and he chewed on his bottom lip like he only did when he was beyond upset. He nodded sadly, and started walking towards the village.

Away from me.

My insects were thrumming inside my chest at a rate I had never felt before. The buzz they caused echoed through my entire being, filling my ears and lungs. I could not stop them from leaving me; if I had I'm sure they would have eaten me alive. I was forced to watch as they formed a clone directly in Kiba's path. It seems my Kikaichu are braver than I.

"Listen to me," they said with my voice, "after all this that you've put me through you owe me that much."

"What am I supposed to listen to," Kiba asked sullenly, "if you don't have anything to say?"

"Why should you listen? Because I have something to say," I said, "even if I haven't figured out what it is yet." My clone chimed in.

Kiba just sighed to himself, took a few steps to the side of the road and collapsed onto the grass. He tried not to look at either me or my clone, but I caught a few glances anyway. Silence seemed to be an ongoing theme with us.

"Do you think I'm a freak?" He managed to ask after a few attempts. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." Now that I had the chance to talk as I wanted my throat seemed raw. Every word scratched, refusing to come out, "I don't think that."

It's all seems so wrong. It clicked in my mind. That piece I couldn't find a place for. It was the thought that I was going to end up with a woman; that I was going to marry and have children and inherit the Aburame clan. It was my own feelings and Kiba's. It was the genetic programming that two men cannot be together romantically.

"This is hard for me, Kiba. This is…new to me. I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to this. You're my friend, my teammate. I have never thought of you that way."

"And now things are awkward between us and I've screwed everything up." He ran his hands through his hair, chewed his bottom lip and pretty much every other tell he has to show that he was uncomfortable.

"Admittedly I can't say that I am wholly comfortable right now. Despite how much I have been thinking about this, I haven't managed to unravel it all. I'm still confused, so—"

"You don't have to say it Shino. I know you're not like me. You don't like me that way. Let's just go home." Oh, the defeat in his voice.

"So," I continued, "I can't promise anything. I can't say that my mind is made 100 percent made up, but I'm willing to try."

"Try?" Surprise strangled the sound as Kiba tried to speak, to the point the word was almost unrecognizable.

"Yes," I had said it, and somewhere inside I could feel that I meant it. Despite how confused my thoughts were it felt right, in a sense. "I have said my peace. Now we can go home."

"So what does this mean?" Kiba had to scramble to catch up with me. He was blushing, so I pretended not to look at him while he matched his pace with mine. I suppose maybe I could see what all those girls had seen in him.

"I don't know. I'm still figuring it out." Was this considered flirting now? There was so much that I didn't know.

Some days it seems like you know what is going to happen, from beginning to end, while others you find out that your world does not work the way you thought it did. Some days are just weirdest than others.

Weird is not always bad.

* * *

**Notes-** I'm sorry for how long it took to get this out. It was a hard chapter to write since I knew where I wanted it to end, but I didn't want to just totally change Shino's character to do it. I think I managed to work it out. I know it was cruel to leave you all hanging like that. I thank you all for waiting, and offer imaginary cookies and cupcakes. I know since it's the last chapter most people don't bother to review anymore, but any writer knows reviews are amazing no matter when they happen or what they say. You could write a single word and it would be awesome: just be like "octopus!" and I'd be happy with that. Anyway, I'm going to stop begging for love.

I hope you enjoyed _Cold_.


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